Ailsa Changhttp://wvxu.org
enWhat Eye Contact — and Dogs — Can Teach Us About Civility In Politicshttp://wvxu.org/post/what-eye-contact-and-dogs-can-teach-us-about-civility-politics
Republican Warren Limmer sits in the second row of the Minnesota state Senate. He says more than 80 percent of his colleagues sit behind him. But he doesn't dare turn around to look at them when he gets up to speak.<p>He might get scolded. It's happened before.<p>"Then my cadence is thrown off," Limmer said. "I have to beg forgiveness to the Senate president. And then I'll get a slight admonishment, and then I can proceed."<p>Minnesota Senate Rule 36.8 requires that all remarks during debate be addressed to the Senate president at the front of the chamber. It's been on the books forever.Fri, 08 May 2015 09:04:00 +0000Ailsa Chang41302 at http://wvxu.orgWhat Eye Contact — and Dogs — Can Teach Us About Civility In PoliticsFull Senate Debates May Reveal Recent Bipartisanship As An Illusionhttp://wvxu.org/post/full-senate-debates-may-reveal-recent-bipartisanship-illusion
Just a few weeks ago we heard a lot about a delicate compromise that would allow Congress <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/04/14/399641350/senate-panel-backs-bill-to-allow-congressional-review-of-iran-deal" target="_blank">to review any deal emerging from nuclear talks with Iran</a>. It came from a bipartisan negotiation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — to wide acclaim.<p>But that deal still needs to survive a vote of the full Senate, a far more daunting challenge in these partisan times.Sat, 02 May 2015 20:17:00 +0000Ailsa Chang41089 at http://wvxu.orgFull Senate Debates May Reveal Recent Bipartisanship As An IllusionSeeking Presidency, 'Socialist' Sanders Looks To Elevate Less-Talked About Issueshttp://wvxu.org/post/seeking-presidency-socialist-sanders-looks-elevate-less-talked-about-issues
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is running for president, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/04/29/403151700/vermont-sen-bernie-sanders-jumps-into-the-presidential-race">he said Wednesday night</a>. He will be challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, and the self-described "Democratic Socialist" will keep the pressure on Clinton to move to the left.<p>Sanders has lamented for a long time what he thinks has been woefully missing from the national conversation.<p>"We don't talk about the real issues facing the American people. We don't talk about it.Thu, 30 Apr 2015 01:04:00 +0000Ailsa Chang40958 at http://wvxu.orgSeeking Presidency, 'Socialist' Sanders Looks To Elevate Less-Talked About IssuesBudget Reconciliation Explained Through Chutes And Ladders http://wvxu.org/post/budget-reconciliation-explained-through-chutes-and-ladders
There's a word you're going to be hearing a lot as Congress tries to pass a budget this year: reconciliation. It's a procedural fast-track lawmakers get to use after they approve a budget. Republicans are hoping to repeal the Affordable Care Act — or, at least parts of it — through reconciliation, but they're not likely to win that game.<p>Maybe the best way to think about reconciliation is through the favorite board game Chutes and Ladders. The object is to get to the very last square on the board.Fri, 20 Mar 2015 19:42:00 +0000Ailsa Chang39230 at http://wvxu.orgBudget Reconciliation Explained Through Chutes And Ladders Missed Abortion Language Tangles Senate's Trafficking Billhttp://wvxu.org/post/missed-abortion-language-tangles-senates-trafficking-bill
A once widely supported Senate bill that would create a fund for human trafficking victims has hit a snag over language Democrats say they didn't know was in the bill — a provision that would bar funds collected under the measure from being used to pay for abortions. And the impasse over that language now threatens to delay other Senate business, like confirming a new attorney general.<p>The bill would create a "Domestic Trafficking Victims' Fund" — a restitution fund for victims collected through fines on people convicted of trafficking crimes.Mon, 16 Mar 2015 20:37:00 +0000Ailsa Chang39017 at http://wvxu.orgMissed Abortion Language Tangles Senate's Trafficking Bill